A Pirate's Life For Me
by Rinchen
Summary: Lovino had ran away from home. Yes: Ran away. He didn't think he was going to meet the Captain of 'el Diablo', Antonio Fernandez Carriedo on that exact night. I guess Fate works in different ways. Rated T for Safety.
1. Stowaway

It was just a normal day for Lovino "Romano" Vargas. Well, as normal as a house accompanied by a family as strange as mine could get anyway. I walked through the doorway and sat down at the table. Resting my head on my hand, I started looking at all of the paintings and remnants of my Grandfather's past, my amber eyes swiftly looking over them. I stopped at one. It was of my Grandfather, standing proudly with his crewmates amidst a background of smoke and an old, grand ship docked at port. They were obviously happy, as if the red, smiling faces were enough to show that. I sighed, a heavy breath coming out of my lips. My Grandfather was nothing like he had been back then, he had calmed down and started a new life for himself when me and my younger brother were younger.

Slowly getting up, I walked over to the window, looking outside at the azure sky, no cloud in sight. The leaves were falling off the trees one by one, creating a blanket on the ground, little children laughing and jumping on them happily, making crunching sounds beneath their feet. A small smile ghosted my lips. I _was _about to say something when hands grabbed my waist and dragged me backwards. A sound of surprise came out of my mouth and my eyes opened wide and in an act of defence, I swung my elbow back and hit my 'attacker' in the face. The 'attacker' yelped out in pain. I turned around and looked down. _Oh, great. _His attacker had been his younger brother whom was now crying his eyes out. He was also whimpering slightly and holding his nose. _Why would he have to- oh, right. _He had just now noticed a little trickle of blood seeping through the gap in his fingers. His younger brother, Feliciano, was quite obviously in pain and he had to do something about it before his Grandfather decided to come down from wherever he was. Their Grandfather may have calmed down from his earlier days, but when you hurt his grandsons there would be hell to pay. This also included himself and Feliciano when they decided to have a little bout of some sort.

Panicking slightly, I crouched down to eye level with the younger Italian and gently took his hands away from his face. Surveying the damage, I ran to get a cloth to clean up the blood that was now staining Feliciano's _white _shirt a nice colour of pinky red. Grabbing the cloth I ran back to my brother and started wiping up the blood from his nose. Taking some bandages I wrapped my brother's nose up and pulled him up from the floor. Feliciano looked at me with teary eyes and with a small quiver of the lips, he said,

"Why would you do that?"

My eyes widened in surprise. What? I wouldn't have done it if I had actually known it was Feliciano! I wouldn't just hurt my brother like that, let alone my younger brother!

"Hey! I wouldn't have done it on purpose, it was an accident and anyway, why did you do that when you know my defence mechanisms come into the flow when someone does that to me. Don't you tell Grandpa because I will do something and you wi-" I cut myself short when I noticed Feliciano started to tear up even more than before.

"Wait, Feliciano, I didn't mean-" It was too late, the flood banks had shattered completely. Feliciano started to wail - really loudly if I may just add - and that alerted our Grandfather. Footsteps stomped quickly down the stairs and in a whirl of brown, white and slightly tan, Feliciano had been picked up and held in an embrace by none other than our mighty Grandfather. I just stood there watching, as I knew I couldn't escape anyway, our Grandfather console Feliciano and wipe his tears away. He said something in his ear and Feliciano nodded, running out of the room and down the hall. It was just me and him. Grandfather, aka Romulus, stood up and looked at me with a weird look in his eye. He walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing slightly. Sometimes, I think if he knew his own strength, he wouldn't do the hand to shoulder technique as it really hurts, seriously! I winced quietly and looked him in the eye and I almost wished I didn't. Almost. I am not a coward and never will be, so I am going to look him in the eye to prove him, and everyone else who have thought that, wrong. We stood there for a while, staring and staring into each other's eyes. His eyes narrowed and mine soon followed.

He sighed and put a hand up to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He opened his eyes in a squint and looked back at me again. I knew it, he's judging me, he always has. Feliciano was always better liked. No wonder why I'm called Lovino meaning 'to ruin' because that's all I ever do - ruin, destroy with my destructive and uncooperative attitude. Backing away from him, I ran straight past him and out of the door, ignoring his calls for me to come back. I just ran and ran through the streets of Rome, pushing past citizens and running as fast as I could just to get away from all the pain. I just ran... and ran... and ran not knowing I was running into the danger zone.

-This-is-a-line-that-was-made-by-Spain-Fusosososo-Tomatoes~!-

Stopping to an abrupt halt, I caught my breath. The sky had darkened, and I stood still, wondering where I was. I was obviously at a docking station for ships to come and go but... whereabouts in Italy was I? The salty smell of the waves attacked my nose and I shuddered. I had never liked the sea all that well, knowing that there were unimaginable terrors lurking below in the murky depths, luring people in and capturing them in a watery grave was too much for me to handle. I was too caught up in my own thoughts that I had failed to notice a ship coming into port. Hearing chains rattling, I then decided to look up and I'm pretty sure my heart just stopped at that precise moment. I started breathing quickly, too scared out of my wits to move and I don't know why, but I started walking forward as if an invisible force was pulling me forward on a leash. As I got closer, I could see how big the ship actually was, and to say that big was an understatement, you would be right. The ship was downright huge! The flag was whipping wildly about in the wind, the skull and crossbones mocking me in silent amusement. Hearing people, probably pirates, shouting raucously aboard the vessel, I noticed the anchor being sent down showing that these pirates weren't going to be leaving any time soon.

A pirate looked over the side of the ship down at me and smiled in a twisted way. I started sweating nervously, asking questions that I didn't want to know the answer to. What would do they to me? Would they let me on and then just toss me away like a piece of parchment? I sure hope not. The whole ship turned silent, definitely contrasting against the earlier rowdiness that nearly burst my eardrums from the sheer noise of it all. A boy that suspiciously looked like a girl signaled for me to come onto the ship, and quickly by the looks of it. I scrambled on board and stood there awkwardly. The boy? Girl? Shim? Heh, shim... shaking my head I kicked myself mentally. What the fuck is a shim? What the hell brain?! So yeah anyway, the boy looked at me with emotionless eyes, quickly creeping me out. I gave the boy a look and looked him up and down. He had short black hair, framing his pointed face and brown eyes that could stare into your soul. He turned around and walked through a door to the right and because I didn't know what else to do, I followed him. What? You would have done the same thing if you were in the middle of a place you didn't know with people just staring at you. Before I went in though, I glanced at the exterior of the ship, and it seemed pretty simple to me, but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover because when I followed the... boy into the cabin, I was shocked. The hell... this place was fucking amazing! Why then did the deck look like a piece of shit compared to the inside which looked like God had kissed the entire spacing of the area? The boy led me, without a word mind you, to this other mysterious door and knocked before waiting.

Soon enough, a voice called out, "Come in." The boy opened the door and led me in. Dio Mio... this place was better than the entire ship put together! Velvet red curtains hanging limply against the window panes, the red sheets covering the bed which looked so soft that he just wanted to smother his face in it and never leave. He noticed a figure standing in front of the window and by the looks of it, this was the Captain. The man turned around and my eyes widened - I had been doing that a lot lately. The man was handsome, with brown curls falling down into his eyes and tied up into a ponytail, purple ribbon holding it in place. He donned a long, red coat with gold straps and buttons that twinkled in the dim light of the candle. He wore a white dress shirt underneath with a jabot tied neatly around his neck and brown pants that were tucked into his boots. He also had the most beautiful green eyes that you could get lost in, but I wasn't going to ever say that so forget I said it, okay? He looked at me and I looked at him. His gaze swept past me and instead looked at the small, black haired boy.

"Kiku, go tell the others that we have an uninvited guest, I will figure out what to do with him." The boy, who I assumed was Kiku, nodded and without any words whatsoever, he turned back around and walked out of the room leaving me with the Captain of this ship. Great. Now you would think that I wouldn't have made any attempt to talk to this man who was going to decide my fate, but I did, so suck on it God. Ha!

"So... That was Kiku? He doesn't talk much does he?" There. My attempt of starting a conversation. If you thought there was going to be more, fuck you.

"Yeah, because he doesn't like to talk much, he's shy. He wasn't always like that though... well, he had the same personality, but at least he talked more. He changed when his brother, Yao Wang disappeared and never came back. Quite sad really." The Captain said. Oh. Well, that was quite a tragic back story to the young, quiet boy.

Well, that was over. So, now for 'Phase 2' of my plan, and... what? I didn't mention a plan, HA, well I do have a plan so shut up. Okay, so Phase 2: Introductions.

"So, what is your name?" I asked, coolly may I add. I wasn't scared, why would you think that?

"Antonio. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Captain of 'el Diablo'. My nicknames include: Toni, the Devil himself and you can make one up that doesn't ruin my self image, I have a reputation to maintain if you don't know. I ran away when I was only a mere teenager, one like yourself and I have never looked back. I enjoy spending time at sea, the feeling of freedom gripping your entire being and the thrill of excitement when a battle commences and finding the aftermath after. Blood everywhere, don't you know. So if you want to stay on my ship you better like the sight of blood, death and corpses rotting at your feet, got that?" He ended sharply, looking at me with dark green eyes. Okay, so I got his whole life story, nice.

"So, you know about me, what about you..?" I froze. He wanted to know about me, my name and everything that goes with it. Okay, okay, maybe he won't do anything with this information, he will just nod his head and fuck off somewhere else. Okay, Lovino, you can do this.

"Well... my name is Lovino. Lovino... Vargas and my nickname or 'other' name is Romano. I ran away from my house too because..." I stopped, too much information.

"Because...?" I thought I saw his eyes soften but it must have been a trick of the light. I gulped to keep the tears down. I don't cry in front of strangers, no way, I am not a coward.

"Nothing.. it's nothing." I replied and that was the end of that.

Antonio smiled and with a swish of his coat, he said excitedly, "Well Lovi, I guess you're my newest recruit. Welcome to 'el Diablo'."

Yes, finally, a new life for myself! I didn't die and-

...Wait. What the fuck was a 'Lovi'?

-Aww-the-line-that-Spain-made-has-ended-better-make-a-new-one~!

Okay! Chapter one end and trust me, this is one that I will continue through to like Chapter 100 or something like that and I will try and make it better.

So, just you wait and be patient and there will be more!


	2. Bloodshed

Antonio blinked. I blinked. We both blinked. The silence crept on _so slowly _that I wanted to cut it apart with a knife but thought better against it. Where would I even get a knife from anyway? It's not like I brought one with me and I definitely couldn't just waltz straight past him and just grab one from under his nose. I fiddled with a loose button on my vest, pulling the thread through it and back again, then saw the look Antonio was giving me. I didn't stop though, why should I? I'm not giving him the satisfaction of watching me fall under his gaze. I eventually did stop though as I had grown quite bored. Why were we just stood here, doing nothing, in complete and utter silence? This idiot in front of me is a pirate ain't he? If he was, then shouldn't he be, y'know, slaughtering unfortunate victims that stood in his way, smiling maniacally down at their lifeless bodies, dull eyes staring off into space?

I sighed, gave a huff of irritation and turned back around to walk away. I could just see the look he was giving me, a confused expression on his face nearly made me laugh, I didn't though, so that was okay. What wasn't okay though, was the fact that I snorted. _Snorted. _I have _never _done that, ever. ...Okay, maybe I have once in the past, but that was because Bella, the local Belgian girl, had made a funny joke and I didn't want to laugh as it wasn't in my nature!

As I was walking down the hallways, I could hear him hurrying behind me. We both stepped onto the deck of the ship and stopped. I edged closer to the railings of the ship and peered over the edge, watching the sea froth at the bottom, licking up against the paint job. By the way, he really needed to get this sorted out, the colour didn't do the ship justice. I turned around and saw one of the crewmates come onto the deck and run up to Antonio.

"Captain! We have to leave port now! The citizens have caught on to our act!" The man, no... boy? spoke hurriedly. Antonio frowned and shouted loudly so the whole crew could hear, "Come on men, we have to leave! Diego, go to starboard side and Devante to port! Kiku, you're on lookout! Heracles go to the bow and of course I will be sailing this fine vessel!" He smirked as he looked proudly at the crew running about quickly to get to their assigned positions. I frowned at him and poked his side.

"Hey, what will I be doing?" I asked with irritation lacing my voice. He looked at me and looked back up in thought for a moment. As if he had a light bulb moment, he made a sound in victory and pointed to the door. I arched an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the _door _and I walked forward carefully, turning to look back every few seconds. All I got was a shooing motion with his hands and an expectant expression on his face. I walked through the doorway and closed the door behind me. Breath in, out, in, out, in, ou- oh, fuck it. I screamed in frustration, and stomped off to the Captain's quarters but a small whisper stopped me. Surprised, I whipped my head around so fast that it probably could have flew off from the force. Squinting my eyes, I was pretty sure I could see a vague outline peeking around one of the many corners.

"Er, hey? Who are you, I have never met you before." I tried, and I'm pretty sure the ghost thing responded but all I heard was a quiet whispering sound as if he hadn't even opened his mouth at all! Looking over my shoulder, I saw there was no one around and then looking forward again, I jumped back in surprise. When did he get here? I looked the boy up and down, seriously, most of the crew on this ship couldn't even pass as fully grown men! This boy had curly shoulder length hair that framed his face perfectly. A weird curl jutted out from the side of his head, curling at the end. _Almost like mine_, I mused. His eyes were violet, with hues of blue mixed in and he looked at me timidly.

"What's your name?" I asked, hoping to at least show I wasn't some evil monster that was waiting to eat his face off. He looked at me in shock and then gripped onto a white... polar... bear? What the hell? Why did they even allow that creature on here?! He must have noticed my surprise when he suddenly answered,

"My name is Matthew... Matthew Williams. This is my bear, Kumakiki." As if the bear had heard its name, it looked up to Matthew. Its beady little eyes looked up innocently at him and said in an annoying, squeaky voice that was going to get _really _frustrating _really _easily, "Who are you?" My jaw dropped, what? That bear had to be stupid, seriously, the kid had just said his name and the bear hadn't even known who he was? That bear needed a slap and quickly. Matthew sighed and said in a voice that showed this had happened more than once, "My name is Matthew, Kumakana..." ...what?

"Hey, didn't you just say the bears name was Kumakiki or something like that?" See, I _was _taking notes. Matthew looked at me with a confused look in his eyes. He looked down at the bear and up again and responded with something that completely befuddled my whole mind, "No, his name is Kumajirou..."

"Kumajirou?"

"No, it was Kumasu."

"Kumasu? But wasn't it just... you know what, never mind, just leave it." I grumbled in annoyance. Matthew pursed his lips and stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry, it's just that, no one even notices me and I didn't think that you would, so..." I huffed out a breath of air and finally decided that this kid needed a confidence boost. Grabbing his shoulders and pulling his face close to mind I ground out, "You need to stand up for yourself, shout from the rooftops, grab people's attention! You can't just stand in the shadows! I haven't even known you for 5 minutes and already I've noticed you are too shy and that you are so quiet that only dogs can hear you!" I shouted the last part, I don't know why but it gave me a rush of adrenaline that even I was excited about the idea and trust me that almost never happens. Matthew looked up at me in a new light, his eyes twinkled in excitement too and I almost smiled.

Keyword: almost. Don't worry children, the world hasn't ended yet.

Matthew opened his lips and was about to say something when the whole ship jerked about. Matthew and I both fell down harshly on the wooden floor and looking at each other with sceptical looks, we both hauled ourselves up onto our feet and swung open the door. To say it was busy was an understatement and there had been a lot of understatements lately... wow, I don't know why I had to point that out, but anyway. Matthew looked at me and I looked at him and I could tell easily that he was frightened. And to be honest, I was a little frightened too. Antonio spotted us and ran over to our positions quickly. He looked out of breath and sweat trickled down his brow. And the words he breathed out next were the words which chilled me to the very bone,

"Pirate ships spotted nearby, coming this way. I've just gotta say that there will be a little blood being shed when the ship comes." I know he was just saying that but I knew he was lying about the 'a little blood' part. There was going to be bucket loads that even the old, mythical vampires would have a heyday with it. I shuddered and dragged Matthew down into the cabins once again and shut the door. I turned to him and with a serious look, I said,

"We won't be seeing the deck for a while..." I saw Matthews body flinch and with that, I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the Captain's quarters, hoping to find solitude there.

-This-is-an-awesome-line-

Even though Matthew had fallen asleep hours ago, I just couldn't let my head let go of the screams of pain and the sword clashing against other swords and bodies thumping on the wooden floor... and basically just the whole death thing altogether. Sighing, I got up and opened the door quietly as to not wake Matthew up. I tiptoed over to the door that led to the deck and hesitated. Was this the right thing to do? ...To hell with the right thing, I just had to know if Antonio was okay. Not like I enjoy having him around or care about his well being or anything, it's just that if he dies then who would command the ship? Grabbing the handle of the door I opened it without a word. A metallic smell pounded my nostrils and I scrunched my face up. Ugh, I hate the smell of blood. Blood... I ran up onto the deck and that was when my whole world came crashing down.

The enemy ship had left and the aftermath of the battle was just simply horrible. There were wooden planks everywhere, the sail was torn and there were bodies that the crewmates were cleaning away. Blood was splashed against every single area of the ship and most of the crew were stood around a person. Stepping closer, my boots clinking against the floor, I pushed through the crowd and looked to see who would cause all of this fuss. My heart dropped and I suddenly felt very faint. It was Antonio. In that moment, he didn't look like a regal, mighty Pirate Captain, he looked like a severely injured, hanging onto life by a string that was close to snapping, man. Dropping down onto my knees I put my hands onto the wound. His shirt was thoroughly soaked that it looked like he had bathed in blood and given the circumstances, he probably had.

"H-Hey, what's all the fuss abou-" I froze in horror and swiveled around. Matthew was there, still as a statue and he was looking in wide eyed horror at the scene. His trembling hands went up to his mouth and he made a retching sound. He shot to the side of the ship and vomited in the water, the sounds reaching my ears. After he had wiped his mouth and looked back at the scene, he drew in a shuddering breath, wrung his hands in distress and ran back down below. I watched him go, that's all I could do at the moment. I felt sorry for the kid, I really did, he didn't need to see this, not as young as he was. I gave the other crew members a sharp look and demanded in my amazing captain voice that totally wasn't shaking,

"Right! Don't just stand there, help me lift him back to his quarters!" That got them moving. Two members took his arms and two other members took his legs and together all four of them had lifted Antonio up and away. Standing up, I followed them to his room and just stood there staring distantly while the maids came in and started bandaging his wounds. After everyone vanished out of the room I took tentative steps forward and sat on a chair near his bed.

I don't know how long I was sat there for, staring at his peaceful face, but all I know is, I never left his side.

-Ooh-I-wonder-who-this-could-be?-

A silhouette stood in the dark hallways watching Lovino sleeping near Antonio's bedside. The figure chuckled darkly.

"So.. little Lovino won't leave Antonio's side, eh? Aww, how sweet. I can definitely sort that out, they will never see me coming..." The voice trailed off and in a flash... he was gone.

-The-awesome-line-has-ended-oh-no!-

Chapter 2 done! All in one day too. Achievement unlocked. So yeah, poor Spain's hurt D: and Lovi won't leave his side :D But... who is this mysterious figure and what is he planning? Find out later!

To be continued.


	3. Tomato

I can't believe I was saying this but... waking up in that moment was the worst moment ever! I yawned and in getting up I felt a sudden pain in my neck. Moving my head around into a more comfortable position the pain seemed to ease away. Ugh, sleeping in one place - especially if it was a wooden chair - didn't do good for your health. Stretching my arms, I opened my eyes fully and looked to the object of my worries. Antonio was still there, still as a statue, not moving.

Looking around the room, my eyes fell upon the door. _Huh, didn't I close that? _Walking over to the door, I peered outside and noticed nothing out of the ordinary, _still a chill though_, I thought. I wrapped my arms around myself in a weird type of self-hug and backed into Antonio's room again. Closing the door, _properly _this time, I walked back over to his bed and sat down heavily. Silence. Antonio's breaths were the only noises in the room and they were sort of comforting. Sort of. So, with nothing else to do, I just decided to get off my lazy behind and actually look at what interests and things Antonio liked. Rooting through his drawers, I came across a red object in clear sight and without any hesitation, I picked it up. A tomato. Why would he have a tomato in one of his drawers, that was packed full of stuff that wasn't even relatable to the tomato. I gave an odd look to the fruit, not vegetable thank you very much, and turned it over in my hands, inspecting whether it was a good enough one. What? Tomatoes need to be inspected like this in case they weren't ripe and... stuff.

Hearing a stirring motion behind me, I turned and saw Antonio shifting around on the bed. I walked closer, still with the tomato in my hand, and looked. Antonio blearily opened his eyes and rubbed them to get the sleep out, and as he did that he sat up. Once he had done the rubbing of the eyes, he looked at the object in my hand. Not at me, oh nooo, he looked straight at the damned fruit in my hand! I just got ignored for a damn tomato! Letting my aura of anger seep out of me in waves, my eye started twitching and of course he didn't notice it. He never notices anything of any important but if it's about him he's all ears, self-centred jerk. He cautiously reached his hand out, as if he was yearning for the tomato. I slowly brought my hand towards his and gave him it, no harm in that... right? Well...

He grabbed the tomato and devoured it as if a monster was going to come and steal it if he didn't do it quickly. In 10 seconds sharp, the tomato was gone. I blinked and the full force of what just happened hit me. Okay then, Antonio wanted me to think of a nickname for him, well he didn't specifically say, but oh well! Well then, I have the perfect nickname for the idiot.

"You like tomatoes, I'm guessing?" As I said those words, Antonio looked at me and nodded eagerly. I took my hands and opened them a little bit,

"This much?" Antonio shook his head. Opening my hands much wider, I said,

"_This _much?" Antonio nodded so fast that he probably got whiplash from it. I see, so he likes tomatoes quite a lot then. Yes, the nickname would do perfectly, cue evil laugh!

"I have a nickname for you now, and I think you will learn to like it!" Antonio's eyes lit up and he looked expectantly in my direction as if waiting for some amazing title or something. Pft, as if. Drum roll please..

"My nickname for you is... TOMATO BASTARD!" I declared and in that moment, laughter nearly exploded out of my mouth at the look of sheer disappointment on his face.

Keyword: nearly.

-This-is-a-line-

My face still red from the amount of laughter that burst from my entire being earlier, I walked through the hallway of the ship. Spotting Kiku, I walked over to him. Can't hurt to try and start up a conversation with him. As I got closer, I saw Kiku was with someone. This person looked a little bit older than the quiet boy and he had shoulder length brown hair with a weird curl on top of his head. He looked a little drowsy, but I feel the same way, so I can't blame him. Kiku turned towards me and gave a small wave.

"Hi there, Lovino-san. It is a pleasure to meet you personally, I am sorry for before but I was in quite a hurry." he said. I looked at him more closely, he looks a little bit older than I thought, hmm.

"Eh, it's alright." I replied and instead turned my look to be directed at the sleep-deprived man. Kiku saw my look and gave a small smile, "This is my friend, Heracles. Don't worry, he is not lazy or anything like that, in fact he is a great worker, it's just that he is tired easily and falls asleep quickly. So if you're talking to him and he falls asleep, don't take it personally." Heracles, hearing his name, waved limply at me and gave a tired smile. I noticed something about the two though.

"Hey, where are you two from?" Kiku looked surprised for a moment and turned to Heracles. Heracles nodded and Kiku smiled once more, "I am from Japan."

"I am from Greece..." Heracles said slowly before falling asleep. I lifted an eyebrow, so what Kiku said was true, okay then. Greece and Japan, nice.

"I'm from Italy." I said, because if they said where they were from, I might as well say where I was from - logic rules! But there was one more question that I needed to be answered though. Tapping Heracles on the shoulder as he was about to fall asleep again, I asked,

"Hey, why are you on this ship anyway? If you're both from two entirely different countries, why would you want to just be sailing in the middle of nowhere?" I asked. Heracles blearily blinked at me and thought for a moment, "Well, it's because all of us that reside on this ship have had terrible lives back in our home countries. Antonio came and saw the way we were living, so he only picked a handful of us up. We were the lucky ones, I guess.." He said, and once again, fell asleep. Kiku smiled at his friend's antics and patted him on the back.

"You could call this a better life for us." He said. I nodded and after a few goodbyes, I walked away. One thing did confuse me though...

_They thought Kiku was shy?_

-Ke-se-se-se-se-se-se-se-se-se-

After that lovely conversation, I decided to head back to Antonio's room. Opening the door without a warning, I stepped in. There Antonio was, in all his glory, stood in the light of the sun. He looked like an angel, his brunette hair shining in the glow. The sunlight also rebounded off of his tanned skin, creating an olive shine. I stood there gaping. What else could I do? It didn't look like he noticed me, so I have to make my presence known. Coughing slightly into my hand, Antonio turned around and smiled a smile that made even God stand there in amazement. This man couldn't seriously be a pirate, he was too much of a nice guy to be a bloodthirsty monster. Humming to myself, I rocked on the balls of my feet.

Antonio walked to me and caressed my face. I held my breath and widened my eyes. His face got closer to mine that I could even feel his breath on my face. _He wasn't going to..._

My thoughts were whole but cut off when his lips met mine. My mind went blank and in that precise moment, I deepened the kiss. After a few moments, he leant back and we both looked to each with flushed faces. He chuckled and breathed out a reply that made my stomach flutter,

"I have been waiting too long to do that..."

And unbeknown to me, I smiled.

-Skip-to-a-new-line-

The dark, hooded figure stepped out onto deck. The crew members that were chatting to each other turned and saw him. Of course, when one of them reached down to grasp the hilt of their swords, the others would follow and that was what the figure wanted, but the pirates didn't known that. Chuckling darkly to himself, he made a move of attack and that sent the pirates off. They charged towards him, brandishing their rapiers to point them at the figure. The figure muttered a chant to himself and his hands started glowing. One of the pirates stopped and looked suspiciously at what the figure was doing,

"Hey, guys, I think we should stop now..." Another pirate turned to him and replied back with a scoff, "Stop? This guy is dangerous, we should just tie him up and make him walk the plank." And with that, the other pirates cheered. The first pirate gulped but said nothing. The figure continued the chant and his whole being started glowing with a dark and dangerous aura. This time, every one of the pirates stopped what they were doing and instead looked closely at the figure. From what they could see, the figure's eyes were glowing from under his hood and they suddenly looked unnatural. Acidic green eyes looked sharply at every one of the pirates and narrowed.

With a shout, the figure threw his hands out and a wave of smoke and flames shot forth from his palms. The pirate crew stumbled back - some fell from the ship itself and some just disintegrated right there. The remaining of the pirates collapsed and covered their heads, fearing for their lives. The flames stopped suddenly and the figure started laughing. Hysterical, maddening laughter that sounded like a banshee mixed with an escaped mental patient.

"Oh yes, I am going to have much fun with this..."

-This-line-has-ended-

Woo, Chapter 3! And the figure has come back for more, but can you guess who he is now? If you can't then you'll just have to wait! Next Chapter to come soon!


	4. Grandpa is Coming

A/N - This chapter is going to not just have Lovino and Antonio because we're going to have a bit of action from Feliciano and Rome throughout, yay~

XxX

After realizing that he hadn't heard from his brother in a while, Feliciano went to check on him. Padding up the stairs, he went to Lovino's room and paled. He wasn't there. Turning around, he ran downstairs to his Grandpa. As soon as he got to him, he grabbed the hem of Romulus' shirt and sobbed quietly. Surprised, Romulus grabbed him by the shoulders and knelt to his height.

"What's wrong, Feli?" he asked. Feliciano looked into his eyes with pure despair and stuttered out,

"I-It's Lovino... he hasn't c-come back y-yet..." He trailed off, face crumbling at the thought that Lovino may be in danger. Romulus's eyes widened as he processed the fact.

"Feli-" He was about to say something when he was cut off by a knock at the door. Standing up and taking Feliciano into his arms gently, he opened the door and was met with a familiar face. His eyes hardened as he took in the man in front of him.

"Arthur..."

The man, now known as Arthur, smiled.

"Hello, Romulus... been a while, hasn't it?"

XxX

Life on the ship wasn't that bad but to say it was better than home was a bit of a stretch. The constant reminder that you're in the middle of nowhere, the salty aroma of the sea around you getting up your nostrils, choking you in the process. Yeah. It was great. I imagine that Feli and Grandpa would be cooking their favourite dish at the moment, laughing heartily and having fun. Not to say that I wasn't having fun, because to be honest this was the most fun I've had ever since Feliciano had accidentally punched that guy that one time. Now _that_ had made me chuckle. Not to mention the way my brother had wailed and pleaded with the man to not send him to jail because he had relatives in whatever country he had come from. The memory made me frown. Great, now I was missing my ditz of a brother. Fantastic. Never thought I'd be doing that anytime soon.

I leaned on the railing of the ship and looked out at the sun gradually getting lower as time went on. It would be dark soon and that was when the entire crew had a giant party. Their idea of party being getting so drunk that they can't stand by the time morning comes and _I _was left to clean up the mess. I sighed. Soon, I would be swimming in vomit and questionable liquid.

This ship would be my resting place, I was sure of it. On my grave it would say:

_Lovino Vargas_

_Died while cleaning a pirate ship_

He snorted. At least his thoughts had a sense of humour.

XxX

"So.. what brings you here, Arthur? I know you're not just looking for a nice, little chat." Arthur chuckled to himself.

"You're right, I'm not here to have a chat with you, rather... I am here because I saw your grandson get on one of the ships docked at the port." He smirked inwardly to himself as he saw Romulus's expression. _Got him_, he thought. Romulus stood up slowly and looked Arthur in the eye.

"How do you know exactly?" He asked. Arthur smiled.

"You could say I had the chance to go on their ship and _spy_ on them. Considering the captain is my most hated rival, I must say I did it for my own gain, not for your grandson. It was by pure luck I came across him, saw the similarity he has to you and then decide to come back here and tell you." Romulus considered the pirate's words. Could he be trusted? Thinking back to the actions Arthur had committed in the past, it was easy for the first impression to go awry. Arthur had lied too many times but since it was Lovino's life at stake, he could take a chance.

"Okay, I believe you. Where is he anyway?"

"He is long gone, I imagine. The ship left hours ago when it was still dark." Romulus sighed in irritation. Great, this was all he needed. First, he finds out that his grandson, whose parents had strictly entrusted him with, has gone missing and then find out that he's too far in the surrounding waters to be reached easily. Arthur saw this and attempted to remedy the situation.

"If it means anything to you... I do have a ship of my own that can catch up to them with no problem." Romulus looked at him with a smile.

"Would you really do this?"

"Of course I would. Now," he put his hand out. "do we have a deal?" Romulus looked at the hand with hesitation. Should he? Well, it was Arthur, he would do anything to get to his 'most hated rival' even if it was by striking a bargain.

He relented and shook the pirate's hand.

"There, now tell me what ship Lovino is on and where they are heading."

"El Diablo and they are heading to Tortuga, the number one pirate hot spot." As he took this all in, he grabbed his jacket. His pirate jacket. Might as well look the part if you're traveling with a world famous pirate captain, looking for another world famous pirate captain and your grandson. He felt a tug on his jacket sleeve and looked down to see Feliciano looking up at him with interest.

"Where are you going, Nonno?" Romulus smiled and patted his head.

"I'm going to find your brother, so stay here okay? I'll be back, I promise you." Feliciano nodded and watched Romulus and Arthur walk out of the door. He looked at the locket his brother had given him a few days before he left. Putting it to his lips he whispered,

"Please bring fratello back. Please..."

XxX

I sighed as I once again took the rags and was faced with cleaning up the mess the crew had made. Honestly, couldn't they keep the alcohol stashed away for at least one night? I scrubbed in silent anger, muttering curses to myself all the while. I sighed and sat up, rubbing the sweat off my brow. I looked towards the window and saw the sun coming up. Wow, it took me all night to do this? Well, at least I wasn't going to do it in the dark anymore.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I whirled around and saw Antonio looking straight at me with bleary eyes. Crossing my arms, I huffed to myself and looked away.

"What do you want, bastard?" Antonio smiled and knelt down besides me, taking a rag. I watched him with wide eyes, wondering what he was doing. _He couldn't be...? _I thought. My thoughts were confirmed as Antonio started scrubbing at the stains on the floorboards. Shaking myself out of my stupor, I grabbed Antonio's wrist and stopped him from doing any more.

"What are you doing? You're a pirate captain, you shouldn't be doing work! You're meant to be in your quarters, polishing your swords while the servants (or whatever you have on here) feed you grapes!" I ranted. Antonio was silent for a moment before he started chuckling. His chuckles turned to laughter. Full blown laughter. Seeing the way Antonio tried to hold it in, turning red in the process made me laugh as well. It felt great, it was the best I had felt in a long while. Our laughter seemed to echo throughout the ship because before we knew it, the whole crew was in high spirits. The cook had a skip in his step, Heracles and Kiku smiled at something silly and everyone was laughing and having a great time. I looked at all of this as soon as my laughter died down. Y'know, this might just be better than going back home to a family that obviously doesn't love me.

XxX

Green eyes glinted in the darkness of the cabin. Arthur sipped at his tea as he chuckled darkly.

"I'm coming for you Lovino..." The point of his cutlass was forcefully dug into the map on his desk, splintering the wood in the process.

"...and Antonio better watch his back."

XxX

A/N - Yay, update! Sorry that it took so long! I didn't know what to write but I finally found it. Hoped you liked this chapter as things are starting to get heated. Grandpa Rome has gone off to find Lovino, Arthur has come into the scene, Antonio got drunk and Lovino cleaned up some puke. Oh, and Feliciano popped up for a second, but y'know.

I hope you enjoyed~!


	5. Capture

I didn't know what was going on and I don't think I want to find out, but let's just say that everything had gone to Hell. The crew was running about, getting to their positions to get ready for the fight to come. Yes, that's right, a ship was coming this way. And my God, it was huge. It wasn't that bad when it was just a small speck in the distance but when it was close enough to see the detail in the paint work, it was downright intimidating. My heart pounded in my chest. This was the most scared I had felt in a long while and it was a foreign feeling to me. I just hope Antonio can defeat the bastards who had dared interfere.

The ship had stopped and I saw a figure looking over the side down at us. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the man. Grandpa...? What was he doing here?! Anger pulsed through my veins. I can't believe him! Leave it to him to ruin everything good I had going for me. As I stood there seething, I hadn't realized that he had come on board with a certain pirate captain.

"Lovino!" I gasped as I was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and swung around to face him. He grabbed my face and cradled it in his palms, checking for injuries or something like that. _Over-protective bastard_, I mused. He breathed a sigh of relief and let me go.

"Thank goodness you are okay, I was worried sick!" I felt a pang in my chest as he said that. He was... worried for me? I turned my gaze to the man next to him and Romulus must have noticed it. He chuckled and brought me closer to the man. Wow... he had massive eyebrows, it looked like two caterpillars had crawled onto his face and refused to move.

"Lovino, this is Arthur Kirkland, an old... _friend_ of mine." He smiled but even I heard his words were forced - and I'm not exactly the observant one. Arthur smiled at me with his green eyes locked on my face. I shuddered slightly as I saw something else in his eyes. Something... possessive. I didn't like it. I smiled back, albeit forced, and backed away ever so slightly.

"Well, it has been fun but I really have to go now..." My Grandpa looked at me with confusion dancing in his eyes.

"But why? I've only just got you back, I'm not letting you go now." I rolled my eyes, you could practically see the desperation coming off of him in waves. I laughed nervously,

"Yeah well, I've got to find someone, so..." When had I become nervous, I've never been nervous around my own family. What has gotten into me lately? I could see Arthur look at me and I'm pretty sure a smirk was placed on his lips.

"By any chance, would that someone be... Antonio Fernandez Carriedo?" I froze. How did he know Antonio? I slowly turned to face him and narrowed my eyes.

"How do you know Antonio?" Arthur chuckled and tapped the side of his nose. Sneaky bastard. I stepped forward threateningly, ready to wipe that smug smirk off of his face before I was grabbed. A small squeak left my mouth as I was carried off.

"ANTONIO!" I screamed, hoping he could hear me. "ANTON-" My shouts were muffled as a hand was placed over my mouth. I struggled to breath through the musky smell of gunpowder and blood and before I knew it, I fell into unconsciousness - the chuckles of a certain Englishman coming with me.

XxX

"We've got my grandson, we can just go home now." Arthur looked at him with amusement laced in his eyes.

"I don't think we can do that, _old friend_." He said. Romulus looked at him in shock as he pulled out his cutlass and pointed it at him.

"What are you doing? I thought we had a deal!" Romulus asked, exasperated. Arthur gave him a smile that betrayed the look in his eyes.

"Yes, we did have a deal but we all know I don't keep my promises." And with that, the cutlass cut down its prey, screams filling the air as blood was spilled.

XxX

I woke up feeling like I had a hangover - what a great way to start the day! Sitting up and opening my eyes, my mind came back to me as I realized where I was. I groaned as the memories of before came crashing back. I wonder if Antonio has figured out I'm not there anymore. Tears pricked at my eyes as I scrubbed them away furiously. Even though the guy was an idiot, he was still there when it mattered. Hearing the door, heavily encased in metal, open with a creak, I looked away. I knew it was the English bastard so what was the point in looking at him. It wouldn't be Antonio, so why get my hopes up? Hearing chuckles, I scowled even more. The damn fucker was mocking me!

"You know, you really are one unique case, Lovino." I flinched as he said my name. Lovino sounded wrong coming out of his mouth, especially with the accent.

"You Grandpa must be so proud..." I closed my eyes, images of my Grandpa flashing in front of them.

"...looking down on you..." My eyes snapped open as I turned to look frostily at him. Looking down on me?

"What do you mean by that, you bastard?!" I yelled at him. He laughed as he shook his finger my way.

"Temper, temper... and what I mean by that is that you won't be seeing him again." He laughed even more as I processed the fact. I won't be seeing him anymore...? Wait, no... he couldn't mean... I jumped up and was about to grab him by his shirt collar when a sharp point presented itself to my stomach. I could see blood, certainly not old, drip off of the blade as I paled. No! It just couldn't be true!

"He's dead, boy, and I should make it clear that if you even lay one finger on me in an act of aggression I shall give to you the same fate that your Grandpa had. Hm?" I turned my gaze to the ground.

"I didn't even say goodbye..." The presence of the cutlass left and I felt like I could breath easy again. Arthur looked at me unamused as he turned around. Before he left though, I was sure I could hear him say,

"You should have thought of that before all of this happened..." And I found myself agreeing with him wholeheartedly. I should have said goodbye. But now I wouldn't be able to and it was all my fault. How would Feliciano react when I tell him when I go back. If I can go back, that is. The thoughts of my younger brother made the tears finally pour out of my tear ducts, sobs echoing throughout the room.

"...I know..."

XxX

A/N - I'm sorry if it appeared short. I'm also sorry if it appears like I've left you on a cliffhanger. Oh, and one more thing... I'm sorry if there was no Antonio action in this chapter. He will be in the next chapter though, so no worries!

I am now going to try and update frequently because I really want this story to get somewhere, so prepare yourselves for more to come! I hope you enjoyed this chapter~


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